Lobyn Hamilton

“I had not allowed myself the dignity to see how far I had come and what I had accomplished, which was leading to the burnout. The renewal allowed me to justify investing in myself and that is a very contagious thing--self love, that is.”

Lobyn Hamilton has been collecting records for use in art and music for more than seven years, so as he approached the process of renewal he realized it was time to switch things up. He says, “As the traveling sunk in, I saw I had used DJing and artwork to close myself off from the world on purpose and had been retreating for many years in my art, in order not to deal with some very important and harsh realities.” His battle with anxiety emerged as the real focus of his renewal, and he felt the need to unplug and reflect on his motives and heart.

The artistic renewal moved forward for Hamilton in the form of a road trip from Indianapolis to Los Angeles. He brought along a good friend, and the two of them took their time traveling historic highways like Route 66. Along the way, they sought out unique restaurants and shops, places where they could find inspiration. Seeing the Grand Canyon and spending the night in Las Vegas were major highlights of the trip.

He finished his renewal with a string of adventures in the Czech Republic, Jamaica, Munich, Milan, Ibiza, London, Chicago, and Paris. These experiences culminated in his very first solo show at the University of Indianapolis, entitled, The Breaks. He says before his show he, “never took the time to see what was gained and what was lost. I had changed so much.”

Hamilton began taking a DJing class at Deckacadmics with DJ MetroGnome along with drawing classes. As he advances in his career as both a DJ and visual artist, he wants to expand his approach and allow intuition and inspiration to guide him, and thanks to the renewal process he was able to articulate these valuable expressions of his artistic self.